nottuB dniweR eht tiH
by softballgal13
Summary: A/U. Lulu and Dante learn just how much someone can change your life. M for language and possibly future chapters.
1. Closed Off

Author's Note: Lulu, Georgie, Maxie, Sam, and Robin are all juniors at Madison Prep, but they don't have uniforms. Zacharra and Corinthos Orgs. are not enemies. Tell me if I should continue.

* * *

Lulu Spencer walked back into the cafeteria wiping the blood off of her face and knuckles. She approached the table where she had been sitting before with Maxie, Sam, Robin and Georgie before leaving for a few minutes. Logan Hayes had approached their table and began to taunt Lulu about her family.

"Get the fuck away from me," Lulu said.

"I just wanted to say happy anniversary, Loooooloooooo," he sneered, accentuating the u's in her name.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, her seething with hatred for her sixteen year-old classmate.

"Wasn't it ten years ago today that your psycho freak of a mother officially lost her marbles?" he said.

Lulu's nostrils flared. "Don't you dare talk about my mother, you son of a bitch!" she said through her teeth.

"Oh, of course. Pardon me. How about we discuss that father of yours? Is he back in prison yet? Or maybe he's out on another million-dollar scam? Oh, better yet, he's banging another stranger. Wonder how many siblings you'll have now?" he said.

Lulu was about to rise from the table when Georgie and Robin, the goody-two-shoes girls, reached out and pulled her back down.

"Don't, Lulu. You know the principal will take his side over yours," Georgie said. She was right. The principal at Madison Prep hated Lulu and her family, but he absolutely adored Logan's family, who donated thousands a year.

"That's right, Lulu. And there's nothing you can do about it. What are you going to do? How about you call your brother? Wait, he's probably out drinking at a bar while his wife cheats on him again," Logan said turning towards the door to leave before turning back to say, "Just do me a favor. Don't forget what happened to your poor mama. You're next."

Lulu rose from the table with her palms flat on its surface. Sam and Maxie looked at each other, knowing what was about to happen. Lulu's face was bright red and her eyes were glinting with hatred.

"Lulu, don't-" Sam started, but Lulu was already storming off towards the lunchroom doors. She could see Logan's back retreating towards the exit of the school and followed him, her black stilettos clacking against the floor loudly.

"You just can't stay away from me, can you?" Logan asked, pinning Lulu against the brick wall of the high school. Ever since she had broken up with him a few months ago because he kept trying to get her to sleep with him, he had been torturing her every day while simultaneously trying to get in her pants.

Lulu pushed him forcefully off of her saying, "I've been staying as far away from you as possible, you freakin' asshole. But this time you pushed me too far," Glancing around, she knew she was in the spot that was blind to all cameras in the school. Rearing back, she connected her fist to his face with a loud smack.

"You are such a fuckin' whore!" he shouted, pushing her to the ground and kicking her in the stomach.

Lulu let out a cry of pain but hooked her leg behind his knee and pulled him to the ground, positioning herself over him, punching him in the nose several times. _Yep, it's definitely broken_," she thought. Her dad would be proud.

Logan took the opportunity when Lulu was thinking to spin her over and punch her across the face. She raked his nails down her face, drawing blood.

"I don't let a girl beat me up," Logan said viciously.

He stood up, pulling her with him and wrapped an arm around her neck, but Lulu grabbed his arm and turned herself around.

"You won't have to _let_ me beat you," Lulu whispered before throwing him against the wall and turning to leave.

Back in the cafeteria, Lulu sat down and flipped her blond hair with blue, green and pink streaks behind her shoulder and picked up her pizza.

"You okay?" Robin asked, noticing the scratches and the red marks on her face. Robin was always concerned about other people's health because she wanted to be a doctor.

"Not even a broken nail," she said, sticking out her hand to show her silver-polished nails with a smirk. Secretly she wanted to break down in tears from the physical and mental pain she was suffering from. Lulu's lifestyle had taken a toll on her, causing to rebel against every rules she had ever known. Inside she was a nice girl like Georgie and Robin, but on the outside she was uncaring and rebellious. She liked the clothes she wore, but she wished she could really be herself to everyone, but for now she was limited to her four best friends.

"Well, I don't think Logan will be bothering you any time soon," Sam said.

"He won't have to, 'cause I'll probably be expelled, anyways," Lulu said.

"It wasn't your fault, Lulu. He provoked you. And we'll back you up," Maxie said reassuringly.

"Thanks, guys," Lulu said, smiling at her four best friends.

"Of course," said Georgie.

Just then the school principal walked in, with Logan walking behind him. "Ms. Spencer, you need to come with me this instant!" he said angrily.

"Sure thing," Lulu replied.

"Wait!" Robin and Maxie said in unison.

"We all saw what happened, shouldn't we come?" Georgie asked, turning on the innocent look. She could make anyone adore her, and now was the perfect time to use her skill.

The principal looked at the girls skeptically, but agreed.

As the group walked down the hall, with the principal in the lead, Logan behind him and the girls behind him. Once Logan turned around to make a snarky comment to Lulu, but one look at the five menacing girls and he knew it was not in his best interest. He had to admit, he was a bit nervous. After all, Lulu had four witnesses on her side, and he only had the principal. But he kind of tipped the scales.

Dante Falconeri walked down the hall with one of the guidance counselors. It was his first day at Madison Prep and she had checked him in to the school. He looked up to see a group of people walking down the hall. One of them was the school principal, whom he had met earlier. The others were six students, two of them looking badly beaten up. The boy's nose was clearly broken, and the girl had what looked like nail marks running down her face. The other four girls were surrounding the girl in a protective manner. He could tell they injured ones were the ones he and his mother had seen when driving into the parking lot.

"What the hell kind of person is he to be beating on a girl like that?" his mother had asked. He had her in a headlock and there was blood running down both of their faces.

She was just about to run over to help her when the girl spun around and threw the boy against the wall before leaving to go back into the building.

"Now, that girl's got spunk," she commented with a smirk. "You find a girl like that, you marry her." Dante was considering going to help the boy when his mother read his mind and said, "Leave him. He deserves it."

Now as Dante walked down the hall, he took in her full image. Over her wonderful body she was wearing turquoise t-shirt and a green vest with a purple scarf. On her legs were torn red skin-tight jeans with fishnet tights showing through the holes. She wore black stiletto heels and she had painted her fingernails metallic silver. Her beautiful golden hair had streaks of blue, pink, and green and she had a huge pair of dark sunglasses perched on her head. She had an impeccable face, but he knew she didn't know it because her lips were painted bright red and she had a thick layer of eyeliner and mascara on.

Lulu raised her eyes to the boy's face and narrowed them as she walked by. Her lips parted and she sent a non-verbal message '_What are you looking at?'_, but inside she was smiling and flirting with him. He had a beautiful face and a heavenly body, who he covered with a Yankees t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Was it possible for a sixteen year-old boy -no, a sixteen year old man- to be that hot?

Dante's eyes moved to the rest of the girls. They looked normal enough, unlike the girl's eccentric style. Just as Dante was about to look away, he saw her face transform from superior to vulnerability and could tell that she had been through a lot, and was trying to cover up her feelings.

"Well, here's the cafeteria. Why don't you go join your classmates at lunch?" the guidance counselor asked. Dante nodded.

Walking into the cafeteria, he walked in and looked around for a place to sit.

"Hey! You the new kid?" he heard and turned his head. A guy with short curly hair had approached him.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," he replied awkwardly.

"I'm Ronnie. Ronnie Domestico."

"I'm Dante Falconeri-Corinthos," he said.

"No way, you're Corinthos', like, long-lost son?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just found out about him a few years ago, so my mom moved us here so I could get to know him better," Dante explained.

"Cool. You wanna come sit with me and my buds?" Ronnie offered.

"Yeah, sure," Dante agreed.

"This is Johnny Zacharra, Frankie Murkoff, Vince Grayson, Owen Stein and Derek Winders. Guys, this is Dante," Ronnie said, pointing to each of the boys as he listed their names.

"Hey," they all said before turning back to their individual conversations. Dante sat down in the seat next to Ronnie's.

"So, you're a Yankees fan?" Ronnie asked.

"Hell yes!" Dante replied. After a long conversation about their favorite baseball team, they fell silent.

"So, who was that guy who was beating up that girl outside?" Dante asked quietly.

"Ah, you saw that, huh? That was Logan Hayes and Lulu Spencer. They used to date, I guess, and when he started taking things too far, she dumped him. Apparently, he didn't take it too well, so, he's been harassing her ever since. A few months ago she just snapped, I guess, and it got physical. He really hurt her, and she got sent to the hospital."

"Are you serious? What kind of guy can do that? And he didn't get expelled?" Dante asked incredulously.

"Nah, but she almost did. The principal hates her family, but he loves Logan's. Anyway, they've been in a few more fights since then, and Lulu's won basically all of them. She's a tough one," Ronnie said.

"Yeah, she sure looks it," Dante murmured.

"Oh, no, she wasn't always like that. I've known her since kindergarten, she used to be one of those nice kids who never got in trouble. But once we got into middle school, she got all rough and tough. I think it was something with her family. You didn't hear this from me, but it's pretty messed up. Her dad is some, like, international con artist who's always all over the world, and her brother's wife had cheated on him a bunch of times, so he's kinda depressed, or something. And her mom... well, her mom is in France for, um, mental health treatment," he rambled.

"Wow. Sounds terrible. How do you know so much about her?" he asked.

"Oh, we were in the same class for a few years. I guess you can say we're friends. We ride the bus together sometimes after practice. I play baseball, she plays softball. And she's pretty damn good, too. You know, as bad as she seems, she's a really great girl. She's nice, caring, funny, and she's super smart, too"

Dante smirked. "Sounds like you got a thing for her."

"Oh, no way. She's not really my type. I have a girlfriend, anyway," Ronnie said.

Suddenly the bell broke into their conversation. "Where are you headed?" asked Ronnie.

Glancing down at his schedule, Dante said, "Biology, Room 158."

"Ah, good old Ms. Basker. She's a great teacher. I've got English, but it looks like we have Algebra together later. See you then," he said with a raise of his hand as they reached the door.

On his way to the science room, he passed the main office. Through the window he could see the argument going on. Logan and the four girls who had been walking with Lulu were arguing with the school principal. Lulu sat in one of the waiting chairs, her expression hollow as she stared off into space. Dante thought if he saw her later, he would see if she was all right.

"He was obviously harassing her!" Robin shouted.

"Of course I wasn't, she came after me!" Logan objected.

"Only because he's been torturing her about her family for the past months!" Sam said loudly.

"Now, students, I think you should calm-" the principal said.

"No, we shouldn't calm down! Lulu didn't do anything wrong, and you always take Logan's side over hers," Georgie said.

"He's been coming after her ever since they broke up. You need to listen to us! We were right there!" said Maxie.

The principal seemed to consider this for a moment. "Yes, but you're Ms. Spencer's best friends, of course you would lie for her."

"We're not lying!" Georgie and Robin yelled.

He sighed. "All right, I'll let you off the hook. But no more nonsense from you, Ms. Spencer!"

The girls could see the anger glint in Sam's eyes, but right when she was about to say something, Lulu reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let it go, Sam," she said, speaking for the first time during the whole meeting.

The principal handed them each late passes for their next classes and dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"Thanks for standing up for me. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be expelled right now. I'll see you guys in History," Lulu said, turning to walk towards her Biology class.

Logan stuck out his foot and tripped Lulu, sending her cascading towards the floor, but not before smashing her head on the door frame of one of the classrooms.

Logan snickered before walking away. Georgie, Maxie, Sam, and Robin hurried over to Lulu's side. Robin turned her over, assessing the wound.

"It's going to leave a bump, but nothing too serious. You need to go to the nurse," she said as Sam and Georgie pulled Lulu to her feet.

"I'm not going to the nurse. She'll just start asking questions and we'll have to go through that again," pointing back to the office. "Bye."

Dante was sitting at an empty table in Biology. As Ms. Basker called out attendance, he noticed that the seat next to his belonged to Lulu Spencer, the girl who had been in the fight earlier, but she hadn't showed up for class.

Just as they were starting their assignment, the door opened and in walked Lulu. He noticed she had a large bump on her forehead, one that had not been there before. And he knew it was probably there because of Logan Hayes. She walked over to their table and dropped her books loudly on the desk. Ms. Basker, a woman who Dante guessed to be in her mid fifties, looked up at he noise. A worried expression took over her face.

"Lulu, are you all right? Do you need to go to the nurse?" she asked, being the only teacher to ever call students by their first names. She had a deep sense of compassion for Lulu, knowing what she had been through and relating in some ways to her situation.

"No, I'm fine," she grumbled, sticking out her pass.

"I'm Dante Falconeri," he said, introducing himself. "I guess we'll be lab partners or something."

Lulu looked him up and down, recognizing him from the hallway and liking what she saw. "Lulu Spencer. I guess we will," she said with a slight smirk.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked concerned.

"I'm perfectly fine," she said with a smile. _Now that you're here_, she added to herself.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, I need you guys' help! I need pairings for: Maxie, Georgie, Sam, Robin, Ronnie, Johnny, Brook Lynn and Lisa (who will both make appearances next chapter). Tell me who you think should be together in your reviews. I can also make up some characters.


	2. Family to the Rescue!

Author's Note: Thanks for all your awesome suggestions! Pairings will be: Lisa/OC, Maxie/Ronnie, Brook/Johnny, Robin/Patrick, Georgie/Michael, and Sam/Jason. I tried to use a suggestion from each reviewer, sorry if I didn't. F E Emerson- I liked your idea of a Lisa/Ethan pairing, but I need Lisa and Brook to be the mean girls in this story and I love Ethan, so I can't have him be dating someone who is mean to his sister. By the way, I changed the first chapter so that Dante saw Lulu in the office but she wasn't crying. Everything will make sense soon enough.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang, Lulu made a mad dash to the door. She wasn't trying to get away from Dante, he seemed like a great guy, but she had opened herself up so much that it scared her to death. She had just met him, and during Biology she had told him much more than she would have told any stranger in a month.

"Lulu, wait," Ms. Basker said, holding out an arm to stop her from leaving. "You too, Dante." Lulu and Dante walked cautiously up to their teacher's desk, hoping that she didn't want to see them about something bad. "All right, so, to cut to the chase, Lulu, I would appreciate it if you could help Dante find his way around the school. I noticed you guys were talking before, so... Listen, Lulu, I know you're not much of a social person, but I think it would be a really good thing for both of you. I'll give you a pass to all of your classes since you'll be going out of your way quite a bit."

Lulu bit her lip and said, "Sure. Fine. Whatever," before breezing out of the room.

Dante looked from Mrs. Basker to the door where Lulu had exited and followed her out.

"Lulu, listen, I-Lulu!" he said, trying to catch up with her. She spun around, causing her books to fly out of her arms. Dante crouched down to help her pick them up. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't ask you to do this. I know you probably have better things to do, so..."

"You know what? It's fine. Because I don't really have anything better to do," she said, walking a bit down the hall and stopping at a door. "This is your class. I'll meet you here after."

Lulu left, running up the stairs to get to her next class. She got in just as the late bell rang and sat down at her seat next between Sam and Maxie, who each sat next to Georgie and Robin.

"Hey, guys," she said.

"How's your head?" Georgie asked. Lulu shrugged.

Mr. Fisk, their grumpy old History teacher, banged his ruler against his desk. "Attention students," he said. "I shall now pass out your tests, please complete them and return them to me once you have are finished."

Lulu sighed. She knew this test would be a breeze, every single one always was. Lulu was so smart that the school had wanted to push her up a grade, but Lulu had refused because she didn't want to be separated from her friends. They were like her sisters, always there for her when she needed advice, support, and more often than not, a shoulder to cry on.

After about twenty minutes, Lulu was finished. Twenty minutes later all of her friends were, too. Georgie quietly ripped a sheet of paper out of her notebook and started scribbling something on it. It was a tradition of theirs- after every test they had in History- which was very often- they would pass a piece of paper back and forth, each of them writing something on it for the rest of them to read. Mr. Fisk couldn't really see that well, so they had never gotten caught.

Georgie: EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

Maxie: it was ok.

Lulu: ok? seriously, i could have done that in third grade.

Sam: okay, not every1 is as smart as you, missy.

Robin: did anyone see lisa and hookerlyn today?

Sam: yeah... where to they go shopping? they say new york city but i think its more like slut city.

Lulu: i dont know what johnny and josh see in them.

Maxie: i do. sex.

Georgie: i heard they were doing it in the girls locker room. both of them. at the same time. right in front of each other.

Maxie: ive done it in the girls locker room!

Lulu: maxie! no you havent! we would have heard about it for months.

Sam: thats just disgusting. i cant believe they actually have parents!

Robin: i know, right? arent parents supposed to be a good influence on her?

Sam: brook / hook lynns parents have been out of town for a few months, i think. im pretty sure shes been staying a lisas house, and lisas parents are too busy having sex to give a crap about her!

Lulu: obviously, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. remember when she tried to hang robin from a tree?

Maxie: how could i forget?

Georgie: lets stop with the getcha downer talk! so, what happened with that guy?

Maxie: i wanna know, too!

Lulu: what guy?

Sam: duh, that new guy?

Robin: hot, the perfect one for you?

Sam: word got around that you guys clicked.

Lulu: ms. basker asked me to show him around the school. is that good or bad?

Maxie: good!

Georgie: definitely good!

Maxie: we know you hate being a ninth wheel. He could be a very apt boyfriend.

Lulu: i barely even know him! besides, it's not like I'm a very good... mentor (is that the right term?) and how do I know he even likes me in the friend kind of way?

Sam: just let us observe- we'll give you our take.

Robin: did he say anything to you?

Sam: anything niiiiiice?

Lulu: honestly, i spilled my guts. like, he knows a lot of things about me. i feel really weird about it.

Maxie: hmmm... depends on what way you look at it.

Georgie: its a lot better than being completely closed off.

Maxie: but anyways did he SAY anything to you?

Lulu: he asked me if i was ok, and he told me some stuff about himself. but it was a lot of me talking and him listening. and then we also had to talk about biology.

Sam: so what did he say EXACTLY?

Robin: maybe lulu doesnt want to tell us everything that goes on in her life?

Sam: hmmm... no way! spill!

Lulu: he said he was raised by him mom in bensonhurst, he came here to get to know his dad who he just found out about a few months ago, he had two half-brothers and a half-sister, he plays baseball, he likes the yankees, he met ronnie and his man-clique...

Maxie: hey! that's my man!

Georgie: (eyes rolling)

Maxie: just because your still crushing on michael corinthos doesnt mean you have to be all depressed about us having boyfriends (including lulu!)

Lulu: i still think its totally gross that your in love with my little cousin.

Sam: yep.

Robin: hes not that little. hes a freshman.

Sam: still, hes related to lulu and he's practically my brother.

Lulu: bells about to ring.

Maxie: kk c ya l8r peeps!

Georgie: good luck with you new guy, lu! -End

The girls passed around the note until everyone had read the final message before the bell rang and they headed to their next classes.

Two hours later, class was over and Lulu was exhausted from running up and down the stairs all day to show Dante to his classes. She didn't know whether to feel appreciation or resentment towards her new assignment; it was a lot of work, but then again, she honestly liked spending time with him.

_What are you doing?_ she asked. _Don't let yourself get soft, Spencer. He's just a boy._

_Is he__?_

She walked over to her shiny new car that she had gotten for her sixteenth birthday from her dad. He always gave her extravagant gifts when he came home, which was about once or twice a year. Lulu knew it was to make up for leaving her alone for basically all of her life. About two years ago, something happened that made him decide to leave (Lulu still couldn't figure out what it was). She had lived with Lucky until she was fifteen, but when Elizabeth had cheated on him with Nikolas he broke down and was unable to care for her anymore. When Luke came home for a few days, he had agreed that Lulu was better off on her own; Lucky couldn't take care of her, Ethan had basically the same lifestyle as her father, and Nikolas was a Cassadine. Luke had rented her an apartment and sent her rent money every month. It took a lot to convince child services that her dad was around. Lulu knew it was what was best, but she got incredibly lonely and always felt unwanted and neglected. She sometimes got visits from her siblings or other relatives, but she was generally alone. The one person who was actually concerned about her was her cousin Carly, who was her most frequent visitor.

Upon reaching home, Lulu walked up to her apartment and unlocked the door. She picked up the mail, and looking through it she noticed there was still no letter from her dad, which she had been waiting for since the landlord showed up expecting payment two weeks ago. About an hour later, she heard a knocking on the door and looked through the peephole. It was the landlord.

"Shit!" she muttered, running to the bathroom and turning on the shower. She pulled open the door to see the old man's expectant expression.

"Where's the rent?" he asked.

"I, uh, I don't have it," she whispered.

"May I speak to your guardian?"

"He's in the shower. Probably will be for a while," she lied.

The landlord held out a piece of paper, which Lulu took hesitantly. "You have been evicted until further notice. You have two hours to pack up your things and get out," he said before slamming the door in her face.

Lulu sank against the door in shock and misery. Her body shook, but no tears came out. She turned off the shower and packed up everything she needed. She looked out the window, she noticed it was pouring rain and grabbed an umbrella before leaving.

She walked outside and found herself at the park. She sat down on one of the benches, her pants getting soaked. Almost an hour passed before she heard footsteps approach.

"Lulu? Is that you?" she heard. Looking closer, she noticed it was Carly.

"Hi," she said.

"What are you doing out here? Where are you going?" she asked, noticing her suitcase.

"I got evicted."

"Come on," Carly said, pulling Lulu's hand. "You're coming to live with me. At least until your dad comes back."

* * *

"Ma?" Dante called into the apartment.

"Dante," she said softly, walking into the room. "Come sit down."

"Uh, is something wrong?" Dante asked, immediately confused.

"Can't a mother have a talk with her son?" she asked.

"Ma... I don't like where this is going. That's the same thing you said before you gave me 'the' talk."

"Dante, come on. How was your first day?" said Olivia.

"Okay."

"Any nice teachers?"

"My Biology teacher's pretty cool," said Dante.

"Ooh, Biology was always my favorite. Did you make any new friends?" she asked.

"I met this guy named Ronnie Domestico. I guess he liked my shirt," Dante said.

"The Yankees are a very powerful force," said Olivia. (Author's note: As a die-hard, life-long Red Sox fan, it pained me to write that.)

"Hey, you remember that girl we saw this morning, the one who was getting the crap beaten out of her before she beat the crap out of that guy?"

Olivia's smile fell. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, I found out her name is Lulu Spencer, and his name is Logan Hayes."

"Logan Hayes? I met his father today at the Metro Court. I guess he wanted to talk to my bosses, your step mom and her friend Jax, and he was pretty upset when she wanted nothing to do with him. He's a very... unpleasant man. Much like his son," she said with a grimace.

"Yeah. Well, Lulu is my lab partner now. And my tour guide-ish person for the next few days," he said.

"Is she cute?"

"Ma!" Dante cried, blushing slightly.

"Oh, she is cute! My baby is in love!" she said pinching his cheek.

"Ma," he said, pulling away from her. "I barely know her, and she's a little... interesting."

"You mean her clothes? Oh, Dante, you can't judge a girl by her cover. And anyways, you should have seen the things I wore at her age," she said.

"So, school was all right, yeah. Hey, are we going to Dad's tonight?" Dante asked.

"Yeah... well, you are."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah... that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ma, what are you not telling me?" he said.

"Dante, you know how I work at a hotel?"

"Yeah, of course. Please, just cut to the chase."

"They want me to move to a different hotel that needs a new owner," she said, closing her eyes in fear of his reaction.

"Ma, we just got here, like, a few weeks ago! What happened to me getting to know my Dad?" he exclaimed.

"Well, you're going to stay here with him and Carly."

"What?" he shouted.

"Honey, I know-"

"No, ma, you don't know! You don't know at all! You're not the one being left behind by your mother with a bunch of complete strangers!"

"Dante, they're your family! Please, I really need this job, and I can't take you with me," she said.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because it's in Switzerland! Baby, please don't be mad at me. It pays amazingly, and we need the money."

"How could you do this? I've always counted on you, and you promised you would always be here for me!"

"I'm sorry, honey! And I'll be sending you money that I earn. I'll call you all the time, and I'll come home whenever I can," she said, her eyes widened apologetically.

Dante took a long, hard look at his mother. He had always felt guilty for essentially taking away what life she had left because he had been born when she was so young. Maybe this was his chance to finally let her go.

"I'll go pack."


	3. An Unexpected Surprise

Lulu followed Carly though the huge doors of Greystone Manor. Sighing, she started to lug her suitcase up the stairs with her backpack on her back to the guest room she knew she would be staying in. Carly had 'forced' Lulu to live here a few times, but Lulu didn't really mind.

Her suitcase was incredibly heavy, and after about a minute she was only half way up the enormous staircase. Suddenly there was a huge meaty hand on top of her bag and it was being lifted into someone's arms.

"Hey, Lulu," Max said, easing up the stairs with the suitcase perched on his shoulder.

"Oh, hi, Max. Thanks," she replied, running up the stairs after him.

"So, Carly's makin' ya stay here for a while?"

"Yeah. My landlord evicted me today. I never got the payment from my dad, which was due, like, two weeks ago," she said rolling her eyes.

"Mmm. Tough nuts." Lulu giggled a bit- Max always had a way of making her laugh, whether he tried to or not.

"So, anyway, how's my little brother?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lulu asked, confused.

"Milo? He's in your grade, right?"

"Oh, right. Well, I never really talk to him, because we don't have any classes together. But I've seen him around, and he looks okay. No fights, that I know of."

"Good to know," Max said remembering the time Milo and Logan had gotten into a fight because he had a huge crush on Lulu and Logan and Lulu had been together at the time. Milo had lost badly, and since then he had joined the football team and started working out.

"Here you go," he said, placing Lulu's suitcase on the bed. "Mrs. C said she wants you to come downstairs as soon as you're unpacked."

"Okay," she said. As soon as Max had left, Lulu pulled out all of her clothes and dumped them into the drawers. She placed her make up, anemia medicine, iPod, backpack, etc. onto the top of the desk and ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Carly was waiting with Michael, Morgan and Josslyn. Carly and Sonny had been thrilled when they found out they were having a baby girl, and she was spoiled beyond repair.

"Hi, Lulu!" 6-year-old Morgan shouted, running up to give his cousin a hug.

"Hey, Morgan," she said. "Hey, Michael, what's up?"

"Are you gonna stay at our house now?" Morgan asked.

"Uh, I guess," she replied, not wanting to say yes if Carly hadn't planned on it.

"Lulu will stay with us as long as she needs to," Carly said, smiling at Lulu.

Lulu smiled awkwardly. These were the kinds of situations that made her most the uncomfortable- when someone was kind and warm to her, but she couldn't return the gesture.

"Lulu, do you wanna play a game with us?" Morgan asked excitedly. Not waiting for her to reply, he grabbed her arm impatiently and pulled her towards the family room. Pulling open a drawer, he pulled out the Pirates of the Caribbean game he loved to play so much.

"Okay, let's play. Michael, you wanna play?" he asked.

"Sure, Morgan," he replied. Lulu always felt slightly awkward around Michael; he went to the same school, so he heard all of the gossip about her, and on top of that Georgie had an insanely huge crush on him and was just waiting for the 'right moment' to make a move. Lulu had considered telling Michael about his secret admirer, but had decided against it for Georgie's sake.

* * *

"All right, Dante! How come you didn't tell me you were so good a baseball?" Ronnie said, slapping Dante a high-five. Dante shrugged sheepishly. "We really could have used you at last year's tournament. We won the first two games easy, but the third and fourth were pretty tough. We pulled it off, though. The championship round we lost, though, to Berkley Heights. We were a lot better than them, too! Hopefully we can win this year, and with you on the team, our chances will be even better."

Ronnie had convinced Dante to come to the Madison Prep Maniacs' practice later that evening to show the coach his stuff. Dante loved playing baseball, but he didn't want to knock anyone off the team. Ronnie practically had to drag him there.

"Aw, come on, I'm not that good," Dante said modestly. Actually, he was that good. Back in Bensonhurst, Dante had been the MVP every year, played in the All-star game since his first year, and had played on the junior varsity team as a freshman and sophomore. He wasn't at the top of his game tonight, he had a lot on his mind. He had just finished packing for his dad's house when Ronnie had called him and told him to get his ass down to the baseball field behind the school. His mother had gladly driven him down, trying to make up for what was going to be happening the next day.

"Oh, yes, you are," Ronnie said. "Are you okay? You seem a little... distant."

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. I just have something on my mind," Dante said.

"Oooh, is it a girl?" Ronnie said, nudging Dante in the shoulder.

"No," he mumbled.

"I bet it is. Hm, let's see... Lulu Spencer," Ronnie guessed.

"It's not about her," Dante said.

"But you do like her, right?"

"I barely know her!" Dante objected, and Ronnie gave him a look. "Yeah, okay, I guess I kinda like her." But kind of didn't even cover it- Dante was pretty sure it was love at first sight.

"Yeah, I could totally tell."

"When did you even see us together?" Dante asked.

"Didn't she walk you to your class after Algebra?" Ronnie asked. "The way you guys looked at each other, like you were in shock or something... you got it bad, man."

"So, you're cool with it?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? She's my friend, and you seem like a pretty cool guy," Ronnie said, nodding his head.

"I thought you had the hots for her."

"What? No! She's my girlfriend Maxie's best friend," Ronnie said. "Didn't I mention I had a girlfriend earlier?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess you did. Sorry," Dante said, secretly thanking God that the angel wasn't in a relationship.

"Nah, it's cool. Well, that means you still got a chance with her, and by the looks of it, she's into you, too."

Dante smiled like a little kid. "You really think so?"

"Oh, sure! Maxie talks about her all the time, and she doesn't open up to anyone but her friends; Maxie, Sam, Georgie and Robin. She lives all by herself in this tiny apartment, and her family is super messed up. Pretty much everyone else gives her crap, and it really gets to her. It's terrible, the way people treat her, like some kind of outcast," Ronnie said shaking his head.

"So... how does this make you think she likes me?" Dante asked confused.

"Well, mostly when she looks at people you see... hurt, and coldness. But when she looked at you, it was different. Like she was happy to see you."

Dante nodded with a small smile.

"Falconeri?" he heard, and looked up to see Mr. Goarwin, the school's burly baseball coach and one of the gym teachers.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Congratulations. You're on the team. I expect to see you on Saturday at the game," he said, tossing a uniform into his lap.

Dante smiled from inside out.

* * *

Lulu, Michael and Morgan sat at the mahogany dining room table after the fourth round of Morgan's favorite game. Lulu yawned and glanced at the huge grandfather clock- 5:30.

"Oh, Morgan, I would love to stay and play, but I have to go to work," Lulu said standing up from the table.

"You have a job?" Morgan exclaimed.

"Yeah, I work at Kelly's."

"Grandpa!" Morgan shouted.

"Hey, I didn't know you worked with Grandpa Mike," Michael said.

"Oh, yeah. Mondays through Thursdays, six to eight, unless there's a dinner rush. For about a year, now," she said.

"Cool," Michael said.

"Maybe you should look into that," Lulu said. "We could be co-workers!"

Michael smiled. "That'd be fun."

"I wanna get a job, too," Morgan said.

"I think you're a little young for that," Michael said laughing.

"So, Michael, do you know my friend Maxie? And her sister Georgie?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, Georgie..." he trailed off blushing slightly. "Um, why- why do you ask?" he studdered.

"Oh, I was just seeing if you knew her because... because she and Maxie might come over for a homework thing," Lulu lied.

"Oh. Okay," Michael said with a smile at the thought of being in the same room as his crush.

"And maybe she thinks you're kind of cute," she whispered before grabbing her bag and heading towards the door. Before leaving, she stopped to talk to Carly. "Hey, Carly, I have to go to work, I'll be back around eight."

"Okay, Max brought your car over. Why didn't you just take it with you when you left your apartment?" Carly asked bouncing Josslyn in her arms.

"I didn't have anywhere to go," she said softly.

"You're always welcome here, honey," Carly said sweetly.

"Thanks," Lulu said. "Bye, Joss," she said running her thumb over Josslyn's soft cheek.

"See you later," Carly said. Lulu waved in reply.

Driving in her shiny car to Kelly's, Lulu's thoughts wandered to what had happened at school that day... but mostly Dante.

He had this amazing affect her. Whenever he looked at her she felt like smiling. She could stare into his beautiful brown eyes forever. No one ever brought out that reaction in her, even after dating Logan for months. Her thing with Logan wasn't really her idea of a relationship, in fact, it wasn't really a relationship at all. Logan had been nice at first, and Lulu kind of liked him. She was really just looking for someone to be with because of her friends; Maxie had Ronnie, Robin had Patrick, Sam had Jason, and Georgie kind of had Michael. They didn't pressure her at all, but she always felt left out. Things were going okay, but after a few weeks Logan had become controlling and obsessive. He insisted on being with her all the time and tried to get her to have sex with him. When Lulu refused, Logan didn't take it too well and attacked her.

And that was just the beginning.

Logan started stalking her; following her everywhere and showing up at her apartment. Then came the taunting; he would torment her about her family and her dysfunctional lifestyle. Then Logan started attacking her.

But it seemed like maybe, just maybe, she could actually have something with Dante.

_You're getting way ahead of yourself! He probably thinks you're a freak._

Pulling in front of Kelly's, Lulu sighed and got out of the car. She walked inside, the aroma of freshly-cooked hamburgers and french fries filling the air.

"Hey, Mike," she said, walking behind the counter and putting on her apron.

"Lulu! Right on time. I need you to take a few orders and bring these to tables four, six and nine," he said, gesturing to the tray of food.

"Okay. Got it," Lulu said, completing her tasks quickly and returning behind the counter. The bell on the door rang and she smiled seeing her friends walk in.

"Hey, guys!" she said.

"Hey, Lulu! What's up?" Robin said as the girls sat down at the stools.

"Well... I got evicted," she said quietly.

"What?" Sam whisper- shouted.

"Yeah. I'm staying at Carly and Sonny's now."

"Oh, my God! That's terrible. I mean, not the part about staying at Carly's, but the part about being evicted," Georgie said.

"Yeah. And, you know Michael lives there," Lulu said, causing Georgie to blush. "Maybe you guys wanna come over for a study date some time..."

"Yes!" Georgie exclaimed. "Uh, I mean, sure, I guess, um..." she trailed off uncomfortably.

The bell on the door rang again and Lulu looked up to see Dante and Ronnie walk in. Dante looked damn hot in his baseball uniform. Maxie squealed and ran over to her boyfriend.

"Ronnie!" she shouted, kissing him on the lips.

"Hey, babe," Ronnie said, wrapping his arm around her. Sam and Robin exchanged glances- Maxie and Ronnie were actually in love, but they really over did it sometimes.

Dante and Lulu's eyes had locked on each other, and it did not go unnoticed by Georgie.

"Come on, guys, let's go over there," she said, pulling everyone over towards a table in the corner.

"Hi," Lulu said smiling.

"Hey, beautiful," Dante said, sitting down on the stool. It was time to get his game on. Before Lulu was just a girl to feel sorry and compassionate for, but now things were different. Lulu blushed and blinked her eyes in shock. "So, did it hurt?"

"Yeah, of course it hurt. How do you think it feels to have the crap beaten out of you?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I meant when you fell from heaven."

"Oh," Lulu said, her cheeks flushing even more.

"Hey, do you have a map?" he asked.

"Um, no, why?"

"Because I just got lost in your eyes," Dante said with a wink.

Lulu blinked in surprise.

"So, can I have a burger and fries?"

"I've never heard that one before," Lulu said, leaning forward.

"No, it's not a line. I'm just hungry."

"Oh, sure, of course," Lulu said walking back to the kitchen. She leaned back on the door and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. Those pick up lines should be cheesy and annoying, but to her they were funny and sweet. Quickly she prepared his food, trying to ignore the stares she was getting from other employees because of her bright red cheeks.

"Here," she said, placing his food in front of him.

"Mm, thanks," he said, chowing down on his meal. "Delicious. Made with love," he said winking once more. Just then Ronnie approached them.

"Yo, Dante, gimme some of that!" he said, snatching a french fry. Lulu smirked before walking away to serve some other customers.

"I knew you liked her," Ronnie said, chomping on a fry.

Dante responded with a loud, deep sigh.

"Well, I can't say I'm not surprised," Ronnie said.

"What do you mean?"

"Logan was a jerk to her. He basically chewed her up and spit her out. I didn't think she'd be so quick to recover," he said, leaning on his elbow on the counter.

Dante nodded. "I don't intend to do the same."

As Lulu walked back to the counter from the table she had just served, Sam reached out and pulled her over.

"What happened?" Maxie asked.

"Did he kiss you?" Sam asked.

"No! We were just talking."

"About what?"

"Did he ask you out?"

"Did he say he likes you?"

"Did you say you like him back?"

"No!" she said to the girls who had asked the last three questions. "And we weren't really talking about that much stuff."

"Well what stuff _were_ you talking about then?" Georgie asked.

"Well..." she began, looking down at her feet. "He was, like, using all these pick up lines."

"Aw!" Georgie said with love in her eyes.

"How cute!" Sam squealed.

"How sweet!" Robin said.

"How blech!" Maxie grimaced.

"Oh, come on, Maxie, you're just jealous because Ronnie barely had to try to get you," Georgie said. Maxie just scowled in reply.

"You should totally go out with him!" Robin said.

"He hasn't asked me out yet."

"Well, if he asks you out," Sam said.

"_When_ he asks you out," Maxie corrected.

"Then you should go out with him," Georgie said.

"What makes you so sure he likes me?"

"Oh, please, Lulu, it's pretty obvious," Maxie said, rolling her eyes.

"WAITRESS!" someone bellowed from across the room. Lulu turned around and saw a grumpy looking rich old lady signaling for her impatiently.

"See you later. I'll keep you updated if anything happens," she said, turning on her pointy heel to serve the woman.

On the way to the table Ronnie called her over. "Here," he said, holding out the payment for their food. "Bye, we're gonna go."

"See you later, baby," Dante said.

"Bye," she sighed.

* * *

Dante arrived at Sonny's estate after picking up his things from his mom's apartment.

"Hi, Dante!" Morgan shouted, running over to give his newfound brother a hug. Morgan had taken an immediate liking to his eldest sibling, and thrived on every opportunity he got to see him.

"Hey, buddy," Dante said.

"Why are you wearing a baseball outfit?" he asked.

"I had tryouts for the baseball team at school earlier," he said.

"Didya make the team?"

"Yep!" Dante replied.

"Cool! Can I come to your game?" he asked.

"Sure, I have one on Saturday."

"Hey, didya know Michael's on the baseball team, too?"

"Oh, really?" Dante asked, glad that he shared a common interest with his brother.

"Yup, only it's for people in his grade, not yours. I went to his games before. His team is really good!"

"Awesome. Maybe me, you and Michael can play baseball together sometime," Dante suggested.

"Cool. Dad wants me to show you where your room is, come on!" he said, tugging on his brother's arm and pulling him upstairs. Morgan led Dante to the room next to Lulu's, but neglected to tell him who would be his neighbor.

"So, this is your room. There's the bathroom," he said. "It's also the bathroom for the guest room. Wanna go outside and play baseball?"

"Yeah, sure," Dante replied.

"Michael, wanna play with us?" he asked when they got downstairs.

"Oh, hey, Dante," Michael said having not seen him earlier. "Sorry, Morgan, I can't. I have a lot of homework to do," he said holding up his algebra textbook.

"Oh, okay. We'll be outside if Mom or Dad asks."

"Sure," he said, turning back to his math homework. He heard the door click open and his cousin walked in.

"Hey, Michael," she said, hanging her sweater on the hook.

"Hi," he replied scribbling something in his notebook.

"What's that, algebra?" she asked, pulling up a chair and looking over his work.

"Yeah, and it's kicking my ass," he said.

"Oh, here, let me help," she said. "You might want to look over this one again," she said pointing to a problem. Flipping through a few pages in the book, she said, "Here, read this. It might help."

"Oh, I get it. Thanks," he said.

"I'd better get started on my homework, too. I'll be right back," she said, running upstairs to get her stuff.

Morgan and Dante walked through the door, walking into the kitchen. "Hey, Michael, guess what!"

"What?"

"I hit a home run!" he exclaimed. "Right over the fence into the woods!"

"Awesome!" he said, high fiving his little brother.

"But now we don't have a ball."

"I have one in my suitcase. I'll be right back," he said.

Lulu stood in her room digging through her backpack for her algebra. Glancing up in the mirror, she noticed her hair was a mess. She went over to the bathroom door to get her brush...

Dante was looking through his bag when he noticed a cut he had on his leg from a bush. He walked over to the bathroom door to get a band aid...

They both pulled open the door at the same time, freezing in shock when they saw each other standing there.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the terrible ending.


	4. Stories of Hurt and Pain

Author's Note: No updates until next Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday); I'm going to London for a week and I won't be able to bring my computer and I can't use my dad's iPhone.

By the way, you guys are so sweet! Love you all!

* * *

Lulu and Dante stood there staring at each other for a few moments before Dante broke the silence.

"So, do you come here often?" he asked.

Ignoring his pick up line, Lulu said, "What the hell are you doing in my bathroom?"

"Oh, your bathroom, is it? Because it's connected to my bedroom, so I think it belongs to me."

"What do you mean, _your_ bedroom?" she asked in confusion.

"I mean that's my bedroom. Where I sleep. And other things."

"You live here?"

"Yeah, for now, I guess. You live here too?" he asked, seemingly unfazed by their situation.

"Yeah, I got evicted from my apartment. So Carly kind of took me under her wing, I guess you could say," she explained.

"Wait, what's your relation to Carly?" he asked.

"She's my cousin. Why are you here?"

"Sonny is my dad."

"Oh," she said, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah, my mom decided to tell me who my father is right on time for her to move away for work," he said. "So now I'm stuck living here."

"My dad fell short on his rent payments for my apartment, and I got evicted. But living here is not that bad," she said with a small smile.

"Not too bad with me as a neighbor," he said with a wink.

"Hmm, we'll see about that," she said. She realized they had unknowingly drifted onto her bed, sitting next to each other but still keeping a good distance.

"So, you were hanging out with Ronnie?" she asked, recalling the time she had seen them together when she walked with him to class.

"Yeah. He seems like a pretty nice guy," said Dante.

Lulu nodded. "He's one of the few decent guys in the entire school. I'm assuming he told you all about me and Logan."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that," he said.

"No, it's my fault, really. I was only with him because I felt left out and self conscious. And it's my fault for not sleeping with him."

"Are you kidding me? No guy has the right to do that to anyone. Maybe he was upset that you wouldn't sleep with him, but he went so far as to actually hit you? That's disgusting," Dante said, feeling truly sorry for the girl sitting across from him.

"That's one way to put it."

"No, that's _the _way to put it. No one deserves that, especially not you."

Lulu met his eyes to see if he was being serious or just playing her like everybody else. "Thanks. You know, there are only a select few people who would say that."

"I find that hard to believe. I don't think anyone could be that mean to you."

"You wouldn't think so if you met the rest of our lovely classmates," she said. "Hold on, give me a sec," she said, walking over to her backpack. "I guess I never took it out after we got them a few weeks ago," she explained, holding up her yearbook.

"Ooh, a lesson. I have to admit it's kind of annoying only knowing a few people around here," he said.

Lulu flipped through a few pages before stopping and pointing to a head shot of a dark haired girl. "Enemy numero uno, Brook Lynn Ashton. Or as I like to call her, Hook Lynn." Dante chuckled slightly. "She... well, to put it shortly, she's a bitch."

"Would you mind convincing me of that?"

"Well, she publicly destroyed Georgie, she stole Maxie's boyfriend Johnny Zacharra from her, she locked Sam in a closet for a day, she drugged Robin and tried to seduce her boyfriend, Patrick, and she ransacked my apartment... just tell me when to stop."

"Alright, I definitely agree with you," Dante said.

"Anyway," she began, flipping to another page, "Enemy numero dos, Lisa Niles. She's basically Brook's accomplice. She's dating Cole Asher, the most idiotic and clueless person in the world. There's also Makenzi Cooke, Sara Morrow, Rachelle Morton and Katy Iamani. They follow her around like a pack of dogs, just waiting for her to praise them. It's... shameful to say the least."

"Wow. So I guess I'll just steer clear of them, huh?"

"That would probably be a good idea. I mean, I'm not saying they're all bad... no, that's what I'm saying. Go ahead and associate with them if you want, but you won't be getting any sympathy of friendship from me."

"Well, I can't risk that. Any other people I should know about?"

"Well, I'm sure you know about Logan Hayes."

"Yes. I heard he gave you a pretty tough time."

"Ha! A tough time is an understatement. Ronnie told you the whole story, didn't he?" she asked.

"Yeah, at least I think it was the whole story," Dante said.

"Well, here's my side of the story. I only got together with Logan because of my friends. They weren't pressuring me or anything, but I always felt like an extra wheel. Maxie had Ronnie, Sam had Jason, Robin had Patrick, and Georgie more or less had Michael. So I felt compelled to have a boyfriend. I didn't really have feelings for Logan, but he seemed like a nice guy. So, after about a week, everything was going okay, but then he started getting all... controlling. It got to the point he called me, like, once an hour, and he always wanted to know where I was. He said he was just making sure I was okay, but it was really stalkerish. So I nicely told him to back off, and he decided that wasn't going to happen and it got even worse. He followed me everywhere. One time he got inside my apartment and tried to get me to have sex with him, so of course I said no. And - and he hit me. So I told him it was over. And he hit me again, and again and again." Dante noticed Lulu was crying and wiped away her tears. Lulu blushed and smiled shakily before continuing. "So when he was finished beating he shit out of me, he left me there bleeding on the floor. Luckily Carly decided to check up on me that day, because my dad hadn't been home for almost six months. I went to the hospital with a few broken ribs and a concussion. I didn't rat out Logan because he - he told me he was sorry and he would never do it again. I told Carly, but I made her promise not to tell. Then he started stalking me even more, and I repeatedly told him we were over but he said that he called the shots in our 'relationship'. He-" she chuckled humorlessly. "He camped out outside of my apartment once, and never left. I had to climb out the fire escape to get to school. Since then he's tormented me about my demented family and beat me up again. So I joined a gym and I've won every fight we've had since then. So, you can blame him for me looking like this," she finished, motioning to her face.

"For you looking beautiful?" he asked.

Lulu blushed. "I'm not beautiful. Bruises and scars are not beautiful."

"Au, contraire. You are beautiful, even with the bruises. And I bet you would be without the makeup, too."

"Thanks," she said, embarrassed and touched.

"Any time."

"I - why am I even telling you this? I don't even know you. You didn't ask for my whole freakin' life story."

"It's fine. Really."

"Thanks."

She noticed Dante staring at her lips. She knew what was coming but she had no desire to put a stop to it. He covered his lips with hers, an electric shock coursing through the both of them. The kiss was soft and gentle yet full of built up passion and emotion.

When he finally pulled back, they stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, or maybe it was hours, before she interrupted their moment of bliss and silence.

"I should probably get back to Michael," she said, not knowing how to continue their romantic moment.

"Yeah, and I should get back to Morgan," he said, walking back towards their Jack and Jill bathroom.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'll see you later."

"Try not to miss me too much," he said with a wink before closing the door.

Lulu fell back on the bed with an enormous smile on her face.


	5. Your Smile Lights Up the Room

Your Smile Lights Up the Room

After about three weeks of knowing her, he noticed one of the very few bad things about Lulu - she didn't smile.

Sure, she would show an occasional grin when talking to her friends or family, but the smile soon faded and he could tell that she wasn't truly, deeply happy. And it bothered him.

"Hey," he said, sitting down on the couch next to her.

"Hey," she said, briefly looking up from her phone and smiling.

"Why don't you do that more often?" he asked impulsively.

"What, text?" she asked, confused.

"No," he said, laughing a little. "Smile."

"I smile all the time!" she protested, placing her cell phone on the table.

"Yeah, you smile, but you never seem happy."

"I'm happy," she said, her fingers picking at her shirt, which was covered completely in silver sequins.

"You sure? Whenever you do smile, if disappears immediately, like you're forcing it," he said. "I'm just worried about you," he said quieter. And he had a right to be worried, too, they had been 'dating' for the past few weeks, though neither one of them had been bold enough to make it official so quickly.

"I guess you make a point," she said. "I'm never really, completely happy, and I don't know if I ever will be." Her voice went up at the end, signaling to Dante that there was a much more painful story hiding behind her words.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he said, even though he was secretly begging to know what made Lulu upset.

"No, I think I need to talk about it. Plus, you deserve to know." After a shaky breath, she began. "It's really more about my family than anything else. I've always felt sort of... rejected by them. It's not like they try to keep me out, I've just never felt like I fit in with them. My dad is always off on some random adventure, so I barely ever see him. And on the off chance that I do see him, he always refuses to take me with him, saying I'll get hurt or something. My brother Ethan is the same, I just found out about him a few years ago and he left about six months after I met him. Lucky's been addicted to alcohol and drugs, and he's always caught up in some drama with his on-and-off wife. He never has any time for me, as selfish as that sounds. My other brother Nikolas is literally a prince, and his family is the most evil group of people in existence. And my mom..." she paused to breathe again, finding it harder as she went on. "She's the main reason I can never be fully happy. I'm sure you've heard this only about a billion times at school, but she's in a mental clinic in France because she went into a catatonic state. I haven't seen her in five or six years, and I've really needed her since then, especially through the whole Logan disaster. Carly's been there, but it just hasn't been the same," she finished quietly, and Dante was sure she would break down in tears, but she didn't.

"It's okay for you to cry," he said, sensing the sadness in her.

She shook her head. "I don't cry. At all. When my mom went away, I cried hysterically every night, and I haven't cried since. There just hasn't been anything that made me as sad as I was then."

Dante didn't have to say anything, he just pulled her into his arms, and she knew that was where she wanted to be.

* * *

Lulu and Dante sat in science class the following day, Lulu scribbling down notes furiously and Dante trying to write something as well, but distracted by the girl sitting next to him. Lulu's messy, color-streaked hair tied up in a messy bun, blonde wisps falling down to frame her face, which had healed from her scuffle with Logan a while ago. She bit her bright red lip slightly, focused entirely on what the teacher was saying. Her hazel, heavily mascaraed eyes were following her hand as it raced across her sheet of paper.

The phone rang obnoxiously and Ms. Basker went to answer it, murmuring quietly to the person on the other end. The teacher's eyes darting briefly to Lulu, but she didn't look up from her paper to see her worried glance.

"Lulu, Mr. Benson needs to see you for a second," she said placing the phone back down. Lulu rose slowly from her seat and glanced over at Logan in the back of the room, hoping he hadn't made up another lie to tell the guidance counselor. She sighed and walked towards the door and into the hallway. She felt strangely alone in the large, empty hall, her footsteps louder than they should have been. She walked past the principal's office, which she knew all too well, looking away to avoid the watchful eye of the prissy old secretary. She turned into the guidance office, coming face to face with her landlord from her old apartment.

"Nice to see you again, Ms. Spencer," said Mr. Benson, not sounding too happy at all. "I'm pleased to say that, for once, you're not here due to your bad behavior regarding Mr. Hayes." Lulu's eyes narrowed in anger. "This man asked me if he could speak with you about your living situation," he said, gesturing towards the landlord.

"Despite your efforts to keep it a secret," the old landlord began, "It has been uncovered that you have been living alone for a while now. Authorities have confirmed your father's activities in foreign countries for quite a long time, proving him guilty of child negligence and abandonment. Since your mother is mentally unstable, your brothers cannot be considered reliable caretakers, and your cousin is married to an infamous mob boss, there are no remaining relatives that can provide a stable home for you. The state has been forced to place you into the foster care system, and you will likely be moved out by the end of this week."

Lulu stood frozen with shock. "But - I - I'm sixteen! I can take care of myself!" she protested.

"Not according to the law, you can't."

"What's wrong with my brothers?"

"Your brother Nikolas is frequently traveling to foreign countries, so he is not deemed a reliable guardian. Your brother Ethan has had multiple altercations with the law, and Lucas has been addicted to both drugs and alcohol."

"You can't just say that! You don't know any of them, they're perfectly able to take care of me!"

"Not according to the state."

"But there's no point in putting me in foster care if I'll be out in two years," she tried to reason.

"I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. This wasn't my decision, Ms. Spencer."

"Can't I stay with one of my friends?" she asked weakly.

"I'm afraid not. You'll be notified when you'll be moved. If no foster care opportunity opens up by then, you will be placed in an orphanage until appropriate accommodations can be acquired."

Lulu was appalled by his announcement, and by how proper and calm the old man was acting while delivering the depressing news. "An orphanage?" she said loudly. "I'm not an orphan! I've got two parents and three brothers, you can't send me to an orphanage!"

"Ah, but I can. I hope you realize that this was in no way my decision, nor do I wish for this to happen to you, I was simply asked to deliver the news. As they say, don't shoot the messenger."

"This isn't fair," she said weakly.

"I apologize. Your family will be notified. I suggest you pack your belongings quickly," he said before leaving the office.

Lulu shot a frantic look at the guidance counselor, who simply looked at her sympathetically and squeezed her shoulder. She sank into one of the chairs and pulled her knees into her chest. Staring out of the window, she desperately tried to think of a solution to her problem, but she couldn't come up with one. Maybe it was time she accustomed herself to the fact that life really hated her.

* * *

Lulu decided not to tell any of her friends about the news; it would only upset them. Dante couldn't help but notice that she seemed detached from everything for the rest of the day. No matter how many times he had asked her what happened in the guidance office, the best answer he had gotten was, 'It was nothing, he just wanted to check up on me because of my fight with Logan.'

After her shift at Kelly's, Lulu went back to Carly's. She threw her jacket on the sofa and stormed up the stairs, despite pleas from Carly to talk about what she had heard over the phone. She slammed her door and locked it before walking over to her bed and delivering a punch to her pillow. She kicked the bottom of her bed and threw herself onto it. She buried her face into her pillow and let out a frustrated moan, cursing the universe for thrusting this upon her. She could feel her blood pressure rising as she grew angrier and angrier. She pushed herself off the bed and walked over to her vanity, searching for her anemia medication. When she had gotten sick when she was younger, the doctors all said she would die without a transplant. Luckily Nikolas came to Port Charles and was a match, but at the last minute she made some sort of miracle recovery and didn't need it anymore. When Logan had first attacked her, the doctors put her back onto the medicine because of the stress her body had been put under.

She looked under everything on the vanity but couldn't find the bottle of pills. She pulled open every drawer, looked under every piece of furniture, practically tearing apart the room. The longer she went not finding her medicine, the more stressed she became and could feel the disease affecting her. Her muscles felt weak, her breath felt short and she started to feel dizzy; and these actions didn't help calm her down. Suddenly the room started to spin and she found herself falling backwards towards the floor before blacking out.

* * *

Logan chuckled as he tossed the pill bottle in his hand, staring out onto the Port Charles Harbor. All he had had to do was get Johnny to convince Carly to let him in because he 'had to borrow something from Lulu for school' and, since Carly knew Maxie had gone out with Johnny and hadn't heard of their break-up, she willingly let him in. He popped open the bottle and emptied the pills into the water before tossing the empty bottle in and walking away.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I don't know much about anemia and I barely know anything about the adoption/foster care system, so forgive any mistakes I might have made with them.

Also, I encourage everyone to stay strong during this rough patch Lante is going through, we/they will get through it! Don't give up! :)


End file.
